GOTHAM Showrunner Bruno Heller Reveals ‘It’s a New Dawn in the GCPD’ After the Maniax Massacre

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Last week’s bloody, action-packed episode, “Knock, Knock,” ended on quite the shocking note, when Jerome (Cameron Monaghan) — a.k.a. The Joker the leader of new villain crew The Maniax — led the group of escaped Arkham Asylum psychopathic criminals straight into the heart of the Gotham City Police Department and opened fire with machine guns, killing almost everyone inside. And he broadcast the whole thing to the entire city, including the cold-blooded murder of Commissioner Essen (Zabryna Guevara).

So it should come as no surprise that this massacre is going to shake things up in major ways moving forward.

“The immediate result of that massacre is the arrival of the new captain, Captain Barnes played by Michael Chiklis,” executive producer Bruno Heller told us. “He brings all that macho, tough energy that Michael does so well. It’s basically a new dawn in the GCPD because finally, Jim Gordon [Ben McKenzie] has a partner inside headquarters who is as daring, as brave, as willing to go the extra yard to change the city.”

“As far as the GCPD goes, after the massacre, it’s no more Mr. Nice Guy,” Heller says. “They start using much more ferocious tactics that are going to lead to both positive results and tragic results that Gordon had not intended. There are big changes coming as a result of that horror.”

Expect Jerome to have a huge target on his back now that he’s publicly taken credit for the GCPD massacre, and that will finally lead viewers to the answer of whether or not he is in fact The Joker.

“We’re going to be giving you concrete answers to his identity,” Heller says. “That story is going to come to a huge and shocking resolution which will explain the whole Joker myth and how it began and how the Joker came to be.”

But what Heller is most excited for fans to see is Bruce Wayne’s (David Mazouz) storyline in these next few episodes.

“Something we’re going to see this year is the underbelly of Wayne Enterprises, the Indian Hill bioengineering laboratory, the subterranean aspects of Wayne Enterprises,” Heller says. “When we go there and see what they’re doing down there, we’re going to be introducing the great Dr. Hugo Strange and Mr. Freeze.”

Heller knew that saving that storyline for season two was the right choice.

“The subtitle of this season is ‘Rise of the Villains’ and I’m so excited to roll out those big baddies,” Heller says. “We’ve got some great ones coming up that is the nub of what makes the DC universe so great, those monsters and villains and the ever-increasing stakes they bring. I’m so excited about what we’re about to do.”

What are you most excited to see this season on Gotham? Hit the comments section below and weigh in now!